SFJ Bible Reading Plan

Ezra 4:1-24

Adversaries Oppose the Rebuilding

4:1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build 5 and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

The Letter to King Artaxerxes

7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.¹ 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows: 9 Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River. 11 (This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12 be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace² and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15 in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. 16 We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”

The King Orders the Work to Cease

17 The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now 18 the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me. 19 And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. 20 And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid. 21 Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. 22 And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”

23 Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. 24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Footnotes

[1] 4:7 Hebrew written in Aramaic and translated in Aramaic, indicating that 4:8–6:18 is in Aramaic; another interpretation is The letter was written in the Aramaic script and set forth in the Aramaic language

[2] 4:14 Aramaic because the salt of the palace is our salt

(ESV)

Ezra 2:1-2

The Exiles Return

2:1 Now these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town. 2 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

The number of the men of the people of Israel:

(ESV)

,

Ezra 3:1-13

Rebuilding the Altar

3:1 When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required, 5 and after that the regular burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon and at all the appointed feasts of the LORD, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the LORD. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. 7 So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

Rebuilding the Temple

8 Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to supervise the work of the house of the LORD. 9 And Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together supervised the workmen in the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad and the Levites, their sons and brothers.

10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD,

  “For he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”

And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.

(ESV)

Ezra 1:1-11

The Proclamation of Cyrus

1:1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:

2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”

5 Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem. 6 And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered. 7 Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. 8 Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 And this was the number of them: 30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers, 10 30 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels; 11 all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

(ESV)

Going Deeper

Elisha (4-30-16)

Grab your Bibles, and let’s go deeper into the life and testimony of the prophet Elisha.

Elisha was a prophet whose faith and miracles were a great sign of an awesome God at work in and through him.

In 2 Kings 2:1-14, we see Elijah’s hand off to Elisha.  In this, Elisha is being given the ministry of Elijah. This is confirmed in the fact that Elijah’s clock fell on him. Also, God parted the waters for him, just as this was a sign of God’s favor on the leadership of Moses and of Joshua before him.  Leading up to this we know that Elisha served with Elijah for some time before succeeding him as prophet.  When asked what Elijah could bless him with in his parting, Elisha requested a “double portion” of the spirit that was upon Elijah (2 Kings 2:9b).

In this Elisha shows incredible wisdom, as he understood it is not enough to just seek success, but it is far better to have the Person who works in and through His people, namely the Holy Spirit of God.  If we were offered one wish, we would likely burn it on something temporary but not Elisha. He sees the lasting benefit of the Holy Spirit upon him.  For those of us who are saved, we don’t realize how good we have it.   Are you making the most of the fact that in Christ, the Holy Spirit is present and able to convict you of sin and guide you in all things?  Let Elisha’s longing for the Holy Spirit be a great reminder to us today.

Ephesians 1:13-14 teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the seal of salvation for all those who believe: “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”  Praise God for this!

In this exchange, Elisha faced a moment of decision. He could take up Elijah’s mantle of prophethood, the anointing of the Spirit, and the rejection by the world that went with it, or he could go his own way. Elisha went on to be one of the greatest prophets in the history of God’s people. Although none of us is a prophet like Elisha, we likewise face a moment of decision when the Lord calls us. The question is:  Will we take up His mantle and follow Him?

In 2 Kings 4:1-9, we read one of the most memorable testimonies of Elisha’s ministry. A widow is being threatened to have her sons taken, and Elisha tells her to take her little remaining oil and to pour it into large vats to be sold off.  Once again, we see the sovereign hand of God working His supernatural ways to bring provision and blessing in a way only He could.  The vats are filled, and the sons are spared.   This stands as another marker that God can and will provide for His people. Our lives are His and He will continue us for as long as He has determined.  We need to remain in faith and rest in Him even when our situation seems bleak. Philippians 4:19-20 says, “my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

I love the testimony of the wealthy woman we read in 2 Kings 4:8-10, who provided a regular space in her home for the man of God who would often pass through.  Many who are of wealth are often the ones who are pickier with their means and slower to share.  But here we have one entrusted with much using it for God-honoring purposes.  What are you doing with what God has entrusted you?  Now some of you are thinking, “But I am not rich like the woman in the story.”  I want to encourage you to reconsider that view on your life. In 1 Timothy 6:17, Timothy is instructed to command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth.

Here is our problem: Most of us hear this verse and we think that it is for someone else… Someone rich.

But most of us have a car!  Some of us own more than one.

Do you realize that only 8% of the people in the world own a car?  That means 92% of the world looks at us and sees wealth.

I went to Vietnam in 2013 on a missions trip where in Ho Chi Minh City there are 6.5 million people (the same as the entire state of Arizona), and only a tiny group of people own cars.  The Vietnamese travel their family of 4 and sometimes more mainly by Moped, because there is no way they can afford in a lifetime to buy a car.

780 million people in the world don’t have access to clean drinking water. That is 3.5 times the population of the United States. This is the reason 3.4 million people die each year from water-related diseases.

You and I are so wealthy that we can literally go to any hose bib in our city and open it up and safely drink from it. But most of us won’t even do that– because it taste bad– not because it’s contaminated; because chlorine tastes gross.

Do you realize millions of people in this highly advanced world don’t even know what it’s like to turn on a water source– any water source– and have something come out for them to drink?  They don’t know what this is like.

How many freshly prepared meals and yummy snacks will you consume today?

Over 800 million people will not eat anything today.  Even the homeless in America can beg and get food in their bellies.

Our homeless are more wealthy then 800 million people around the world.

So we must read a text like this with new eyes and realize, we have been entrusted with so much by God. Our response should not be guilt but to use it for His purposes. So let me ask you, do you hoard what you have and consume it all, or are you looking for ways to invest into the kingdom and others whom have need?  God wants us to be good stewards of the resources and talents with which He entrusts us.  The question is, are we leaving a legacy like this woman and investing those means into others?

In 2 Kings 6:8-23, we see another great example of God at work in and through Elisha. God gave Elisha the “gift of knowledge” (1 Corinthians 12:8-11; 1 Corinthians 14:6), by which he knew King Aram’s secret plans.  With that gift, he was able to advise the King of Israel in foiling Aram’s every move.   When the siege started, God gave Elisha “spiritual vision” to see the armies of heaven protecting him.  This no doubt helped Elisha remain calm and confident in the face of the enemy siege.  When Elisha prayed, God answered him by opening his servant’s eyes and blinding the enemy’s army.

Do you often feel like you are surrounded by the enemy?  While we may not be facing a crisis as large as what Elisha was facing, it can certainly seem that way to us.  We have the opportunity to look at such situations as opportunities to exercise our faith and obey God, rather than responding with fear.   When we are surrounded and taunted by the enemy, we are tempted to look at our adversaries and cower in fear.  When that happens, I find it helpful to follow Elisha’s example and remember that God is with me and has a plan for me.  We too can pray, “O LORD, open my eyes so I may see,” so that His will and Word is in full view as we look to honor Him with our lives.

By His grace and for His glory,

-Shepherd

Soldiers for Jesus MC

2 Kings 8:1-15

The Shunammite’s Land Restored

8:1 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the LORD has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land. 4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.”

Hazael Murders Ben-hadad

7 Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, “The man of God has come here,” 8 the king said to Hazael, “Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’” 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camels’ loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’” 10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,’ but¹ the LORD has shown me that he shall certainly die.” 11 And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept. 12 And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.” 13 And Hazael said, “What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.” 14 Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” 15 But the next day he took the bed cloth² and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

Footnotes

[1] 8:10 Some manuscripts say, ‘You shall certainly not recover,’ for

[2] 8:15 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

(ESV)